Actions by the US Interior and Energy Departments suggest that the federal …

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The US has a potential for harvesting wind energy that can realistically be described as staggering, but a lot of the best sites are in its sparsely populated Great Plains, far away from the urban centers that need the power. Along the densely populated East Coast, most of the best sites are offshore, and studies have indicated that an offshore wind grid could supply a significant amount of baseline power. So far, however, very little has been done at the federal level to take advantage of this potential, with the Department of the Interior having approved its first project only this year.

There are now some signs that the federal government may be looking for ways to accelerate the deployment of offshore wind. On Wednesday, the Department of the Interior announced that it had organized a consortium that includes 10 states on the Atlantic coast (every one from Maine to North Carolina excepting Connecticut), dedicated to promoting the use of wind resources on the outer continental shelf. The group will streamline the permitting process, identify potential lead projects, and ensure that environmental impact research is shared among the participants.

The Department of Energy also signaled its interest on Tuesday by issuing a Request for Information about offshore wind demonstration projects. The DOE is seeking input from stakeholders about what they feel is needed for advanced technology demonstrations of offshore wind projects. The specific areas it's hoping to get information on include reducing the hassles involved with siting, dropping infrastructure costs, testing existing hardware, and what technologies may need to be further developed.

The DOE apparently intends to move quickly, as the RFI indicates that it wants to see a combination of demonstration projects and dedicated test beds operating in the federal government's fiscal 2011, and continuing for two to five years afterwards.

A number of countries have already developed and deployed offshore wind facilities, so the technology isn't likely to be a major stumbling block. As such, the focus on siting and permits by both efforts may have a more significant impact on the development of this energy resource.